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What is Consumer Privacy and How Can I Keep Customer Information Safe?

Your customers put a lot of trust in you. From providing you with full names, contact information, addresses, credit card information, and social security numbers, your customers hand you access to their most personal information to use your services. As flattering as this is, it’s a huge responsibility on your business to ensure this information is kept safe and secure and not abused. This isn’t just because data security is ‘the right thing to do’ -- your business could get into some hot water if the information is not kept secure. Savvior - a leader among Pittsburgh technology companies - knows what it takes to keep information secure and keep your business in compliance with industry regulations. That’s why we’re here to break down the basics of consumer privacy and provide you with steps to keep consumer information safe -- check it out!

What is the Legal Basis for Consumer Privacy Compliance?

Keeping your customer privacy isn’t just the right thing to do, it is a heavily-regulated practice that has evolved over time. Finding its basis in the US constitution, the writing has been adapted to claim that personal privacy is an inalienable right, which has been used as judicial precedence since the 1920s. At its core, security is based on the right to personal privacy, and this idea is the basis from which many regulatory laws are made

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is able to take legal action against companies that violate privacy policies or compromise personal information. Additionally, the Privacy Act of 1974 claims that the collection and use of information cannot be disclosed without written consent unless under one of the 12 outlined statutory exceptions.

As the internet becomes a larger part of our daily lives and more and more of our data is being stored via the cloud and in other centralized data storage locations, these data security regulations are more important than ever and are in constant need of expansion. The Obama administration set forth to create regulations regarding the way personal search data can be used for marketing purposes, but initiatives were (unsurprisingly) shut down in the early months of the Trump administration in 2017.

Why is Consumer Privacy Important?

Pittsburgh Tech Companies Work Hard to Prevent Losses for Clients

In addition to the age-old reason of, ‘it’s the law’ (a grown-up version of ‘because I said so’), consumer privacy is important because it can cause millions of dollars in losses for individuals and businesses alike. A study by IBM found that the average data breach seizes more than 25,000 protected records and costs a company almost $4 million. This alone should be enough of a reason for any business to find the nearest phone and talk to Pittsburgh technology companies about keeping data safe.

Additionally, a data breach of any size is bad PR for a company -- and not the kind of bad PR that is actually good PR. Fear that their sensitive information could be leaked can scare away even the most loyal of customers, meaning it is key to take the necessary steps to ensure consumer security.

Tighten Up Data Security Compliance with these Tips

There are countless steps to ensuring full consumer data security -- far too many to list on a blog post, notably due to the dynamic nature of consumer security protocols based on industry. Looking to get started? Check out these four tips:

Begin security strategies with a written plan. Creating an intuitive security strategy means that your business has to be aware of all possible points of infiltration. Talk to an expert about this, do your research, and collaborate involving your business’s individual needs.

Take the steps to secure online record storage: Secure storage of old data is just as important as the data of your existing customers. Make a plan for storing old data and working with a Pittsburgh software company on implementing secure, 21st-century data storage techniques.

Talk to a Pittsburgh technology company about your security. Only the experts can be fully knowledgable about keeping your consumer (and business) information safe. Looking to buckle down? Get in touch with Savvior to learn how we can begin making your business a safer place for your business and your consumers.